Izzo Alex Duetto PID issues - Page 2

Need help with equipment usage or want to share your latest discovery?
User avatar
TomC (original poster)
Team HB
Posts: 10534
Joined: 13 years ago

#11: Post by TomC (original poster) »

I tried something a bit different lastnight/this AM, to see if it would have any effect, I turned the steam boiler off.

The buttons are still not functioning on the PID like they should, they work sporadically. I will definitely have to place a call into CCS, as it's been over a week now that I emailed their tech support with no response.

The temp, before I went to bed was set at 198. It was 199 when I walked into the kitchen this morning to start grinding my Don Pachi for the Duetto

I pulled 2 shots of the Don Pachi, and the temp wandered from 200, down to 196. I don't race between shots, I clean the group head down after cleaning up after each shot, and even am willing to give it a brief purge before pulling a shot, if the temp reads out higher than what I want.

I am definitely going to call them Friday morning when I'm off. CCS is always very good about helping us out, when you call into them. Last time I dealt with an issue, I was transfered to tech support and had a very helpful knowledgeable person on the phone in seconds. And he wasn't trying to rush to get me off the phone either, which I admire. Perhaps, my email just got buried somewhere. I know it can happen from time to time.

Back to the original point of this thread, if anyone who's bought an Alex Duetto, since vs 2, has had any problems with PID, please chime in here, or PM me about it. I'm trying to isolate the issues and fix them both. But I'm not certain if the wandering temp is right or not.
Join us and support Artisan Roasting Software=https://artisan-scope.org/donate/

User avatar
cafeIKE
Posts: 4704
Joined: 18 years ago

#12: Post by cafeIKE »

Wandering temperature is not right for a properly configured PID controlled system. A bulb thermostat can do as well or better.

Have you checked the P-I-D parameters? A PID, being an electronic device, is always susceptible to glitches and / or incorrect setup.

User avatar
TomC (original poster)
Team HB
Posts: 10534
Joined: 13 years ago

#13: Post by TomC (original poster) »

^ I don't know how^ to be completely honest. All I've done was plug the machine in when I got it, and use it nearly daily for the past 2 months. It sat idle for almost 2 months after I bougth it, fired up infrequently, while I waited for a custom tamper maker to actually deliver what was ordered back in May.

Tomorrow, I will call CCS about the PID. It's really begining to irritate me.
Join us and support Artisan Roasting Software=https://artisan-scope.org/donate/

genovese
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 years ago

#14: Post by genovese »

Hope you solved your problem by now. Your machine should have come with an owner's manual on CDROM which describes checking and setting the more obscure PID parameters. It's also freely downloadable here.

User avatar
TomC (original poster)
Team HB
Posts: 10534
Joined: 13 years ago

#15: Post by TomC (original poster) »

Life often gets in the way of certain projects and with my erratic schedule,getting on the phone with their tech help didn't happen til this Wednesday.

I still have no control over either function once the unit starts to warm the water. I'm stuck with my initial choice in temps. I've usually stayed at 199-201. Then I see how stabile the temp is. It stays where I set it and only cools during the end of the extraction and subsequent flush. What bothers me as well is that it can easily rebound an additional 3 degrees beyond my set point, and take its merry time coming down slooooowly.

CCS is sending me a new PID but I wonder if the keypad itself is dysfunctioning. It races to the value 20x quicker than when it did when I got it and it's not as responsive to touch imput. Sometimes I have to mash very hard to get either if them to work. :twisted:

UUUUGGGGHHHHHHHH
Join us and support Artisan Roasting Software=https://artisan-scope.org/donate/

Post Reply